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Lion Air 737 MAX Crash, Jakarta

A Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, with no reports of survivors. It is the first crash of a MAX narrowbody.

Flight JT610 took off from Jakarta at around 6:20 a.m. local time on Oct. 29, and was scheduled to arrive at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang City, Indonesia, at 7:20 a.m. However, the aircraft lost contact around 6:33 a.m.

Indonesian officials have confirmed the crash, and aircraft debris and human remains have been recovered from the water. Search and rescue divers are on site. The fuselage has not yet been located and is believed to be more than 30 meters underwater in the Java Sea.

Local media reported the pilots requested a return to Jakarta before losing contact with air traffic controllers. There has been no indication of bad weather in the area.

The aircraft, PK-LQP, first flew on July 30 and was delivered to Lion Air in August. Lion Air operates 11 737 MAX 8s, according to the Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s fleet database. The carrier has more than 250 737 MAX aircraft on order, and carriers within the Lion group were first to operate both the -8 and -9 variants. Lion Air Group was also among the first to order the largest MAX variant, the -10.

According to Flightradar24 data, the aircraft climbed to an altitude of 2,050 ft. and reached a speed of 265 kt. around 80 seconds after takeoff, before descending to 1,475 ft. and accelerating to 330 kt. over the following 25 seconds. The aircraft subsequently resumed its climb to around 5,400 ft., where it remained for most of the remaining flight. Speed was relatively stable at around 300 kt.

Lion Air, a fast-growing Indonesian-based LCC, said the aircraft was commanded by Bhavye Suneja, who had 6,000 flight hours, while the first officer, named only as Harvino, had 5,000 hours. The airline reportedly said there was a technical issue with the same aircraft on its previous flight, although it indicated this had been resolved. A statement from the airline said the aircraft was declared operationally ready. Lion’s CEO told media there were no plans to ground other aircraft.

Lion Air operates 119 aircraft, predominantly 737-800s and -900s, with a total of 446 narrowbodies on order, including Airbus A320neo family aircraft. The airline is one of five Indonesian carriers listed on the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry, with its registration current through July 29, 2020.

Boeing said it was “deeply saddened” by the loss of flight JT610 and “stands ready to provide technical assistance to the accident investigation,” and noted that “in accordance with international protocol, all inquiries about aviation accident investigations must be directed to the Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC).”

All MAX aircraft are powered by CFM LEAP-1B engines.

By: Adrian Schofield

NS Comment: Souls on board reported as 188 or 189. Bodies and debris being recovered from the sea, as seen on the News.
Condolences to the bereaved families of crewmembers and passengers.

Airspeed is measured using sensors called pitot tubes, which record pressure on the wing or front surface of the aircraft. This is compared to pressure readings obtained from a so-called "static port" on another part of the aircraft. With corrections, the difference between the two can be used to calculate airspeed.

Pitot tubes, however, can become blocked - for example due to icing. Such instances can cause erratic airspeed readings, which in turn can confuse pilots and affect the way in which the aircraft is flown, possibly leading to accidents.

These are still early days in the investigation and more information is needed. But if unreliable airspeed readings were a factor, key questions will be: what was the cause - poor design or poor maintenance procedures, for example - and why previous problems were apparently not rectified.

NS Comment: The Pitot/static system design is well-proven, going back 50yrs on the B737. On the other hand, a repeated report of airspeed indicator issues should have warranted getting out the Pitot/static system Test Kit to checkout system integrity. Let's hope someone did that.

Re: Lion Air 737 MAX Crash, Jakarta

Boeing issued a safety bulletin to pilots Tuesday instructing crews on how to handle the potential of erroneous data from sensors on its 737 MAX aircraft following of last week's deadly Lion Air crash in Indonesia.

Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee investigators looking at the crash of Lion Air Flight JT610 have found that one of the brand new plane's "angle of attack" sensors had malfunctioned and provided inaccurate data, according to Boeing.

The sensor controls the angle of the nose of the plane relative to oncoming air. If the sensor fails to send correct information, it can confuse both the plane's computer and its pilots, causing an aircraft to take a sudden dive.

The Lion Air plane hit the water 13 minutes after departing Jakarta at 6:20 a.m. last Monday. All 189 people on board were killed.

The "angle of attack" sensors on the plane had been replaced the day before the fatal flight, The Associated Press reported. Additionally, airspeed indicators malfunctioned on the three flights leading up to Monday's crash, as well as during the last flight, Indonesian investigators have said.

The Federal Aviation Administration will require all U.S. airlines that use the 737 MAX aircraft to follow the corrective actions laid out in the bulletin, the administration said. Two hundred of the planes are in use worldwide

Boeing said the bulletin highlighted "existing flight crew procedures" on how to react to incorrect data being sent from sensors to the cockpit

NS Comment: Looking like kneejerk reactions going on. Airspeed errors, AOA errors. If airspeed is lower than target, a stall may be initiated.

Someone replaced the AOA Sensor. Not clear if the aircraft had one or two Stall Warning Systems. UK CAA Special Conditions required dual Stall Warning Systems on aircraft while the FARs used to specify a single system.

Nothing mentioned yet if a Pitot/Static system check was performed for the Airspeed error snags.

Re: Lion Air 737 MAX Crash, Jakarta

Great input, Mono.

The Tech Log pages don't say that the AOA was replaced, as previously given by the Indonesian investigators.

A combined disagreement of IAS and ALT rather points to Static system issues, innit? The corrective action stated: Flushed and tested "on ground and found satisfied". The narrative didn't provide an AMM reference, so method of test is not definite.

Should STS be Speed Trim System or Stab Trim System? With the Elev Feel problem, Stab Trim seems more likely to me.

Re: Lion Air 737 MAX Crash, Jakarta

There are also reports of a new stabiliser control system , unknown to the crew which could , in the right circumstances cause a severe nose down attitude . Nothing confirmed about what actually happened .

Still waiting for official reports , but new systems which could affect aircraft flight controls, unknown to the crew is a little worrying...............

Re: Lion Air 737 MAX Crash, Jakarta

Originally Posted by TinyTim2

There are also reports of a new stabiliser control system , unknown to the crew which could , in the right circumstances cause a severe nose down attitude . Nothing confirmed about what actually happened .

Still waiting for official reports , but new systems which could affect aircraft flight controls, unknown to the crew is a little worrying...............

I read an article on Monday 12 November that Boeing on Nov. 10 issued a Multi-Operator Message (MOM) explaining the MAX's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) which "commands nose-down stabilizer" to help prevent stalls in certain flight profiles. This has been followed on Thursday 15 November by the yankee Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) calling on the FAA and US National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) to assist in providing information on an automated pitch-control system suspected of possibly contributing to the October fatal crash of a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8.

In a Nov. 15 letter addressed to FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell and NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt, ALPA president Tim Canoll requested “immediate help and assistance in clarifying the issues”.

Is it really possible that Boeing introduced a new feature on the 737-MAX which has not been incorporated in flight crew training? I haven't seen the MOM, so don't have the full details of its contents.

Re: Lion Air 737 MAX Crash, Jakarta

Analysts, including former Boeing flight controls experts, are concerned that a new automated flight control system on Boeing's 737 MAX may be flawed and that the way it changed the jet's handling could have sown confusion on the flight deck of Lion Air Flight JT610.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Wednesday it’s evaluating whether to require Boeing to fix a possible flaw in its design of a new automated flight control system introduced for the 737 MAX jet.

It’s also looking into whether the technical data and training provided to pilots transitioning to the new jet model was adequate. Flight control experts believe that lack of information about the new system likely confused the pilots flying the Lion Air jet that crashed Oct. 29 in Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board.

The air safety agency said Wednesday that “the FAA and Boeing continue to evaluate the need for software and/or other design changes to the aircraft, including operating procedures and training.”

The accident investigation has already established that false readings from a sensor that measures the plane’s angle of attack (AOA) - the angle between the wing and the oncoming air flow - could have triggered a flight control system new on the MAX that relentlessly pushed the nose of the aircraft downward.

FAA spokesman Greg Martin said “the angle of attack values used by several systems, including the air data, the fight controls, the stall warning, etcetera, the safety analysis for each of these systems are currently being reviewed.”

Re: Lion Air 737 MAX Crash, Jakarta

Not recording MM references following work carried out, could lead to wrong analysis during investigation. The identifying sign off stamp will put the guy in the firing line--a lesson to all especially where correct identification of work done is not adhered to. There is no protection for the engineer or proof what was done so investigation conclusions may well generate the blame culture get out. .

Re: Lion Air 737 MAX Crash, Jakarta

In place of a conference call with airlines (originally scheduled for yesterday, 20-Nov-2018), Boeing will next week hold a series of regional meetings to answer questions about the safety of the 737 MAX. And in a message to employees, CEO Muilenburg denied that a procedure to deal with a new flight control system is not covered in the pilot manual.